And so it begins...

Welcome!

As promised (or to some, threatened), I've created a blog to transcribe my thoughts & experiences re: all things Oxford during the next nine months.

So, first post: the journey to, arrival at, and first few days in Oxford--the abridged version, which is still pretty long. The real abridged version, if you don't feel like reading what's below: I made it here alive. Moved in and am slowly acclimating. The end.

Okay, here's the travel story. After a tearful goodbye to family and Gil at the security gate, boarded the plane with relative ease-- except how my carry on was almost too big to fit, and some little old British lady helped for a minute until she got frustrated with the mammoth suitcase and was like, well, you're on your own; I just can't help you anymore, and stormed down the aisle, followed by her disapproving-looking husband. But eventually all luggage was stowed, and we took off.

(Dinner for one at the Detroit airport. The wine was key. As was the cheesey soup.)

My favorite part about long flights are the movies the airline provides, and I was pretty excited to discover that those screens built into the seats have been seriously upgraded. I had fun with the touch screen playing games, creating my own playlist of their music, and watching episodes of 30 rock, Will and Grace, The Office, etc--and though the movies themselves were terrible, it was all pretty entertaining, except it meant that

I DID NOT SLEEP AT ALL ON THE PLANE. I can never sleep on planes. I even bought sleeping pills to take, but they were stashed in my gargantuan carry on that was crammed in the overhead compartment. So during the seven hour, overnight flight, I maybe nodded off for all of twenty minutes.

Okay, finally: we arrived at London Heathrow. I had a hard time getting my suitcases down, they kept tipping over, i dropped my book, my backpack popped open... I was a hot mess. Like, the HOTTEST mess. Finally get to "passport check" where the lady sort of only half believes that I'm here for school, but eventually lets me though. And then I drop ALL MY STUFF ALL OVER THE PLACE. So I hold up the line and look super shady in the one place it is really good not to look shady. But eventually I sorted myself out and moved on.

This brings us to Epic Bus Saga 2009. First I followed the signs toward the exit and out of the terminal (I forgot to mention, our terminal was suuuper shady, as in, most of it is closed for remodeling so we had to walk for ~20 minutes to get out of there) ; then discern from the scant information available how to find the Oxford bus. There were buses coming and going, but it wasn't clear which one I was supposed to get on. Then I overhear a guy saying he's supposed to make his way to Oxford so i crept him HARD and was like, mmm, OXFORD, you say? You're my new travel buddy. Imagine the creepiest eavesdropper ever, hair askew from the flight, under-eye bags from not sleeping, wrangling four of the largest bags ever, tripping over them to get to you...that was me.

Finally, we got on the right bus with another girl who looked totally lost and turned out to be another Oxford-bound student . But it was only a shuttle to the real, non creepy terminal where the buses actually live. Everyone was so nice about helping each other with our bags because we were all American hot messes, and I felt like I was in good company.

I tried to stay awake on the bus ride to the Ox but could not. And in fact, the English highway looks pretty much like the Michigan one, just opposite sides of the road. I woke up just in time for the bus to drop us off at the station. The Int'l student services people materialized to take us to taxis, which took me to my college office. The people there took me me to my house...

I live at the very top of the house. Like four long, winding, holy-crap-I-need-to-go-to-the-gym flights, at the top of the house. After laughing at me dragging my giant suitcases through the gravel driveways (an experience which made me think of the days of humiliating public punishments like floggings and stocks), the college officer took me into my house, told me to have fun bringing up my four ginormous suitcases, and peaced out. I lugged the monsters up there, reconfigured the furniture, and unpacked.

In these few days before anything really gets going, I'm making little forays into the city centre, i.e. British downtown, which is about 15-20 minutes on foot, to shop and explore. Yesterday I went to a department store for sheets, towels, a bedspread, pillows, etc. Today's post-orientation foray was for our sub fusc/academic dress/harry potter robes--and food. I realized that all I'd eaten in my 36 hours in the UK was half an egg salad sandwich procured from my friendly neighborhood street vendor. So between all the walking that I'm doing here. the unending staircase to my room, and lack of eating, I may emerge from these 9 months quite a bit thinner.

(My friendly neighborhood street vendor: purveyor of kabobs, falafels...and egg salad sandwiches on baguettes)

Tomorrow's agenda: track down the college IT officer in his turret (for real, he has a turret) to make him give me access to the wireless in my house (this college computer lab is just not cutting it, especially for skyping/video chatting); open bank account; buy kitchen supplies to cook the food I've bought; buy posters for my walls (it looks less like a cell and more like a habitable environment every day); mail postcards; and "MCSP" my hallway...i.e., open my door, introduce myself, build community/force them to be my friends.

Good plan.

Cheers (Allison says I can now use this signoff without sounding like a tool),
Amanda